Phil Mickelson withdraws from field of 2022 PGA Championship as defending champion continues on hiatus
The PGA of America announced on Friday that defending champion Phil Mickelson has withdrawn from the PGA Championship’s 104th game at Southern Hills next week. After being placed on the official roster on Monday, speculation remains as to whether the 51-year-old will actually attend Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“We have just been informed that Phil Mickelson has withdrawn from the PGA Championship,” PGA of America in a statement. “Phil is the defending champion and currently qualifying for a PGA Life Membership and we welcome him to join. We wish Phil and Amy all the best and look forward to his return. play golf.”
Charl Schwartzel will come on for Mickelson, while Kramer Hickok also comes on for Harris English, who withdrew Friday through injury.
Mickelson peaked last year becoming the oldest champion in history with a win at the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, ahead of the likes of Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen. Since then, Lefty has been in hot water due to his involvement in LIV Golf, the Saudi Arabia-backed golf tournament that competes with the PGA Tour.
The six-time main winner hasn’t been seen in a PGA Tour event since January at the Open Farmers Insurance Awards, and he has been out of the competition since the Saudi Arabia International at the start of the month. Two after his remarks about the Saudi regime became public. That hasn’t stopped his agent, Steve Loy, from releasing a statement on April 25 about his potential playing schedule.
“Our client Phil Mickelson is officially registered to compete in the PGA Championship as well as the US Open,” Loy said. “We have also applied on his behalf to be allowed to compete in the first LIV Golf Invitational in London, June 9-11.”
A lot has happened since this statement was made public, as PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan denied all waiver requests for golfers who wanted to participate in the first LIV Golf Invitational event. . This leaves Mickelson in an even more difficult situation. He could very well ignore Monahan’s decision and play in London despite the possibility of discipline from the PGA Tour. However, what does this mean for Mickelson’s grand career aspirations?
Without a US Open title, the third major championship of the year will take place from June 16 to 19, a week after the first LIV Golf Invitational event. The State Golf Association will have to stand in one way or another when it comes to Mickelson and other LIV Golf participants.
With just a month to go, we’ll have to wait and see what the USGA will ultimately decide. What we do know is that when he withdrew from the PGA championship, a few questions swirled around Mickelson while many more remained unanswered.
